r-standifer-workshops

I'm a Gen Xer: The Cranky Middle Child Your Company Really Needs

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:58:35 GMT

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Gen Xers are the forgotten generation. Stuck between the overwhelming forces that are the Boomers and Millennials, we got left behind by politicians, marketers, business leaders, and educators.

Don't think we didn't notice. Chuck Palahniuk perfectly summed up Gen X feelings in Fight Club :

" We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off. "

Us Gen Xers tend to be a skeptical, cynical bunch. There was a study done years ago asking Gen Xers which they thought was more likely to happen in their lifetime: receiving Social Security or being abducted by aliens.

Guess which one got the most votes? (Hint: it wasn't Social Security.)

So you probably think Gen Xers are needy, whiny slackers who make horrible employees. The interesting thing is, that isn't true at all... if you understand us. And while we aren't 20-somethings fresh out of college anymore, we're still worth hiring and valuable to your organization. Let me tell you why.

The Case FOR Gen X Workers

In terms of generational characteristics, Gen Xers tend to be independent workers, capable of taking on challenging projects without a lot of handholding or micromanaging. We're adaptable and intrepreneurial in spirit, using creativity, innovation, and risk-taking to develop new products or services for the organization.

One unique and valuable aspect of Gen Xers is that we represent a technological bridge between Boomers and younger generations. We're the generation that remembers life before the internet but adapted to it as teenagers or young adults. Comfortable with technology but not digital natives like Millennials or Gen Z, we can communicate and negotiate across the generations on tech topics in ways that everyone understands.

Gen Xers make great cross-mentors with younger workers for that reason as well. Coupled with our intrepreneurial mindset, we can encourage innovation and adaptability in younger cohorts while also keeping more traditional (pre-tech) options in mind.

Gen Xers are direct communicators—we aren't afraid to tell you what we think. A confident leader finds that both refreshing and constructive. We don't mind face-to-face meetings, but we prefer electronic communication for most things to save time (unlike our Boomer counterparts who turned going to meetings into an art form).

Ours is the generation that first promoted the idea of work-life balance. Having watched our parents kill themselves for their organizations only to end up downsized in the '80s, we were determined not to fall down the same rabbit hole. Today's savvy organization knows that work-life balance creates more productive, satisfied workers who stay loyal to the company longer.

The Bottom Line

Yes, Gen Xers can appear on first glance to be the problem child generation. But if you take the time to get to know us and really see us, you'll find that we're well worth the effort and extremely valuable to your organization. Even when we seem cranky.

In my next article, I’ll talk about why Gen Xers make great virtual team leaders.

What the Easter Island Moai Can Teach Us About Leadership

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:51:59 GMT

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Target's Holiday Policy and Emotional Labor: Ho Ho No! Part 2

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:47:19 GMT

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This holiday season, Target rolled out a new policy called "10-4" that requires employees to smile, wave, display welcoming body language, and engage in warm, helpful interactions with customers at all times. While it sounds straightforward and even nice on the surface, this kind of “forced niceness” comes at a cost to the employee in the form of emotional burnout, higher stress and anxiety, and lower job satisfaction.

At the organizational level, this results in more absenteeism and higher turnover. And it's happening at a time of year when the store chain needs their people the most. Not exactly what Target was shooting for. Why is this happening? Two words: emotional labor .

What Is Emotional Labor?

Emotional labor is what happens when you're forced to display emotions you're not actually feeling. Picture this: a Target employee dealing with the World's Worst Customer—someone who walks in with a chip on their shoulder and proceeds to unleash their lousy attitude on everyone around them. They complain, argue, yell. Meanwhile, the Target employee has to remain pleasant, charming, professional, and cheerful, even though they'd like to do just the opposite. Those forced pleasant emotions? They come at a cost to both the employee and Target. And during the holidays, this happens a lot.

So What Can Target Do About It?

The answer lies in culture and leadership, and the messages (both subtle and blatant) that flow from them to employees.

Company culture should reflect what's truly important to the organization. It's the social glue that binds people together and creates a sense of community. Culture also establishes norms—the right and wrong ways to behave. If you want employees to act a certain way, those behaviors must align with the values embedded in your company's culture. And one of the best ways to communicate culture? Through leadership.

Leaders need to be the face and heart of the culture. Modeling the behaviors you want to see is one of the most important things a leader can do. Much like the child-parent relationship, employees look to leaders for clues about how to act and react. They watch to see what values are truly important. So, if the employee sees a leader who ignores customers or treats them poorly, that is the way the employee will act.

Making the "10-4" Policy Actually Work

Given the influence of culture and leadership, here's how Target can make their "10-4" policy more successful:

Acknowledge the labor and the toll it takes. Leaders should talk to employees upfront about emotional labor and how it can affect anyone, especially during busy times like the holidays. Be honest about how it feels and show empathy when employees are struggling. As much as possible, help employees engage in "deep acting” where they actually try to develop the emotions they're being asked to display. It's the holidays, after all. What can managers do to help employees get into the holiday spirit themselves?

Know the norms (and teach them). Target should be clear about the rules they expect employees to follow around the "10-4" policy. Help employees learn the techniques through observation of seasoned staff, constructive feedback, and recognition when they nail it. Don't assume employees automatically know what constitutes a "warm, helpful interaction." Let them practice before throwing them onto the floor. Give them specific examples of things they might say to customers to spread holiday cheer.

Create a safe space. Target should designate places in each store where employees can escape from customers for a bit. These spaces should be staffed by managers who can help employees feel comfortable. During this time of year, it's crucial that employees have someone to listen and let them vent the frustration that inevitably builds when dealing with crowds of customers in stressful situations. Not just other employees (though that helps too), but someone in a leadership role acting with genuine empathy—that's what really makes a difference.

Be the example. Employees take their cues from leadership, so it's essential for leaders to interact with customers exactly how they want their employees to act. But beyond that, leaders also need to model work-life balance—taking breaks when possible, talking through feelings, acknowledging the stress of the season. Vulnerability and mindfulness can make a huge difference to employees watching from the sidelines.

The Bottom Line

The holiday season is stressful, particularly for the people serving customers in stores and helping them find that perfect gift. Target has challenged their employees with a policy that requires stamina, emotional stability, and patience. For it to work, Target must ensure their culture aligns with the behaviors they want to see and that their leaders act as role models and active participants, working alongside employees to make the holidays truly memorable for customers.

(And please, don't play "All I Want for Christmas Is You" 1,000 times—that alone would be enough to make anyone lose it.)

Target’s Holiday Policy and Emotional Labor: Ho Ho No!

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:39:06 GMT

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Bobcat's Lessons for New Leaders, Part 2

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:26:19 GMT

There's a lot a cat can teach new leaders — just ask Bobcat

Our new shelter-adopted cat, Bobcat, is large of body and of heart. He is the very model of a modern feline leader! (Okay, the Gilbert & Sullivan reference didn’t quite land there.) In my last post, I described Bobcat’s Lessons for New Leaders—things leaders in new situations can learn from Bobcat’s approach to life. Let’s pick it back up with:

Building Relationships

Investment Pays Off

Bobcat is a people cat. He loves being with “his people” (a.k.a. us). As a new leader, you want your “people” (a.k.a. employees) to feel wanted and valued as well. One of the most important things a new leader needs to do is build relationships and trust. That requires different approaches for different employees.

For some employees, that won’t take much. For others, it will require more frequent (or longer) interactions, assistance, explanations, etc. Get to know people beyond “that’s Bob in accounting.” Find out about their work preferences, work goals, strengths and areas for development, and personal facts they’re comfortable sharing. The more you understand the person behind the desk, the better you can lead and serve them.

Bobcat appreciates that some people need more interaction than others; for him, it usually involves taking longer naps on laps and graciously allowing himself to be petted and admired.

To read this blog, go to Rhetta's Substack, https://rhettastandifer.substack.com/

Bobcat's Lessons for New Leaders

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:14:08 GMT

My new cat's approach to leadership when entering a new situation

A little over two weeks ago, we adopted a stray cat from our local shelter (don’t shop – adopt!). His name is Bobcat. He’s large, infinitely snuggly, and all-around adorable. His acclimation to our home and family has been nothing short of miraculous. He’s even formed a wary — albeit somewhat friendly — détente with our goofy but lovable dog, Piper.

As I watched Bobcat navigate his way around our living room (and into our hearts), I had an epiphany: Bobcat’s first days provided valuable lessons about how leaders should approach a new position in an organization. So below are some of those lessons, as dictated to me by Bobcat. (What, you expected him to type them up?)

First Days, First Impressions

Day One: Stay Under the Couch

Bobcat spent his first day in our home under the couch. I was concerned he was unhappy or overly nervous, but in reality he was observing and scoping out the situation. He interacted with us when necessary (like at dinnertime), but there wasn’t a ton of communication. In leadership terms: no executive orders, no excessive handshaking, and certainly no big changes. He got to know the lay of the land, so to speak.

Don’t get me wrong—he made initial connections with us—but he wasn’t overly communicative. And that’s smart.

To finish this blog, go to my Substack at https://rhettastandifer.substack.com/

The Game is Afoot: How Leaders Can Assess Their Org Culture Like Sherlock Holmes

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:38:49 GMT

On my Substack this week, we're going to don our deerstalker hat and go looking for org culture clues! Enjoy!

Walk through your company. Be still and look around you — what do you see? How are people working? What do you hear? What’s the tempo of work? How do people interact? What’s the workplace environment like?

These are all clues about your culture. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to see and understand what your culture is really about. And when you collect these clues, you can assess your company’s culture like the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.

Join us on my Substack and read about how leaders can deduce things about their org culture using the techniques of Holmes at https://rhettastandifer.substack.com/

How You Make It Through a Student Team Project

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:17:02 GMT

When I was a college student, I hated team projects. So I got a PhD. And studied teams. Here’s how you survive a student team project.

I’m going to share a sad, but honest truth with you: you are not going to make it through your college career without participating in student team projects. And most of these project assignments are going to suck.

The faculty assigning these projects aren’t out to get you, I swear. I know this because I was one of those professors for over 25 years. Most faculty aren’t real thrilled to be doing these team projects themselves, but recruiters — you know the people who hire you — demand that students do teamwork in their courses. They want you to practice collaborative skills so you will know how to work in teams when you enter the workforce.

Plot twist : most students still won't know how.

Why? Because, as I said before, most team projects suck. They’re designed by faculty who are experts in Microbiology, French Literature, or Political Science — not team building. If you want students to learn how to work in teams, get someone who studies teams to design team projects. Someone like . . . me.

The funny thing is, I hated teamwork when I was in school. I mean I loathed it. Half the time, I didn’t get the point of the project (because the professor didn’t bother to tell me what it was). And most of the time, I ended up doing most of the work because one or more of the bozos I was assigned to work with didn’t give a damn about their grade. How I ended up getting a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and becoming a teams researcher is a story too long and boring to go into. But it did give me insights into why team projects are so often terrible and what needs to happen in these projects to prevent them from being such horrible experiences, for students and for faculty.

Here’s the ironic thing: done right, these projects can actually be useful. They can be relevant, meaningful, dare I say, even interesting! So I am going to give you the info that will help you not just survive but actually thrive in a student team project situation.

Remember You’re Learning Two Things

No matter what the team project is about, it’s really about two things. First, there's the course content itself. Let’s say you’re taking a course in American History and you have a team project researching progressivism in the early 20 ^th century. In that case, you will be expected to learn about progressivism as a team outcome. But this is a team project. So you should also be learning about how to work in a team – how to work collaboratively to reach that team outcome about progressivism.

One project, two learning goals. Even if your professor never mentions the word “collaboration,” make it your priority to know what it means and how to do it well.

What Does It Mean to “Collaborate?”

Collaboration means working together toward a shared goal, sharing ideas and responsibilities, communicating openly, and supporting each other. It's a human process, not just dividing up the work and pasting it together at the end. It's interaction and interdependency, not parallel, separate work.

Start Off on the Right Foot

The very first thing your team should do is have a “forming” meeting. (Yes, it’s as exciting as it sounds, but stick with me here.) In this meeting, you are going to do two really important things: 1) get to know each other a little bit and 2) set some team ground rules for the project.

For the first part, meet somewhere comfortable; a diner, a restaurant, a park. Talk for a few minutes about yourselves and have a fun conversation about nothing important. This is actually a useful thing to do for the project and for collaboration. You are building trust and team cohesion; things you need to make the project go more smoothly. It also helps develop collaborative skills.

Next, turn the conversation to how everyone would like the team to function. This is known as team norms. Is it important to everyone that people show up to meetings on time? What happens if someone doesn’t get work done on time? How quickly should people respond to emails?

Write these rules down on paper and have everyone sign it like it’s a contract. I know it sounds silly, but it helps build accountability.

Communicate

Good collaboration is rooted in good communication. That means you offer ideas, ask questions, and raise concerns. But it also means you listen to what others have to say. In fact, you should listen more than you talk.

Make sure that everyone understands your perspective and that you understand theirs. When in doubt, ask. If someone has an objection, hear them out — don’t dismiss them out of hand. Provide your response as clearly as you can. Don’t rush it. Focus on arriving at a solution that everyone can live with.

Model the Behavior You Want to See

Display the behavior you want others to use. If you want people to email you back quickly, then do that yourself. If you want people to be clear when giving instructions, be clear yourself.

Modeling is especially useful when there is conflict. Be calm and reasonable (even if you don’t feel that way) and others are more likely to be that way themselves. Act confidently and positively when working with your team. Don’t sit around complaining, even though that’s an easy thing to do when you’re working on a team project.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute

This is a classic student mistake. No matter how long a professor gives teams to complete a project, teams often wait until the last week — or the night before — to try and do the project, in the mistaken belief that the professor won’t notice. Trust me — we can tell.

That said, you don’t have to start the day it’s assigned either. I’ve worked with people who wanted to get it done in the first week, and they’re as annoying as the ones who procrastinate.

Collaboration involves compromise. Work to people’s strengths and natural rhythms. Some people can work ahead, some can work later, as long as you schedule well. Don’t think of it as everyone doing exactly the same amount of work. Instead, have people do the work that engages them or fits their schedule, while ensuring no one is overburdened. That requires communication and compromise.

It might be worth it to the team to have someone whose primary job is to schedule and monitor what everyone is supposed to be doing.

Your Professor is Your Friend

Whenever I discussed a project at the beginning of the semester with a class, I always told students to come to me if there were any issues within the team. Then I sat back and listened to the crickets. Most of the time, I did not get any visits to my office. Even if I reached out to teams during the course, I was told things were fine.

But it was not uncommon to get a visit after the course was over by a student who wanted to complain about their team (or about one of the people on their team). They were never happy with my response. Coming to me after the project was over was a waste of my time and theirs. At that point, there was nothing I could do to help.

Learning to collaborate means you also learn how to deal with problem teammates and when to go to the supervisor for help. The supervisor in this case is the professor and they should be helpful; if they are not, shame on them. But if you really want to learn collaborative skills —and you do — you should always try to resolve the problem on your own first, like a professional, before running to a supervisor. If you can say you did that, it makes you look good to the “boss.”

Why Shouldn’t I Just Aim for the Grade?

Because the grade isn’t the point. Five years from now, no one — including you — will give a damn what you got on this team project. (Honestly, I don’t think anyone is going to care if you learned about progressivism in the early 20 ^th century either.)

But if you can walk into a job interview and intelligently talk about the collaborative skills you learned working in a team? That matters. If you resolve conflict or turn out a quality team outcome in your first job? That matters.

So go into these team projects with the right attitude and see if you don’t come out of them not just surviving, but winning.

Virtual Meeting Etiquette: More Tips

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:28:46 GMT

"Politeness costs little and yields much." — Traditional proverb

In an earlier article, I outlined ways that etiquette and manners make virtual team meetings more effective. Remember, etiquette provides the rules, while manners are the personal expressions of those rules. Now, I realize that etiquette isn't the most pressing issue virtual team leaders face. But as the proverb says, politeness creates substantial rewards. Research shows that good manners lead to increased member engagement and decreased emotional exhaustion—outcomes that matter for any team.

So here are a few more suggestions for virtual team leaders and members about etiquette and manners that can help meetings run smoother and maybe even be more interesting and enjoyable.

Respect Everyone's Time

As you plan a meeting agenda, take a step back and ask yourself: does everyone on the team really need to attend? If the answer is yes, great. But if not, don't make everyone come. The person left off the list won't feel excluded—they'll appreciate getting that time back! As long as you're not consistently leaving the same person out, you're fine. It's good manners to let team members excuse themselves from meetings without fear of reprisal.

Of course, strategic meetings require everyone's presence—etiquette (and good business practice) dictates that. Same goes for gatherings focused on community or trust-building. But try to help your people avoid meeting fatigue, which is just as prevalent in virtual teams as it is in face-to-face ones.

Ice Breakers (Use Sparingly)

At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, save the "fun" activities for when your team is gathering primarily to build trust and community. Starting a work-focused meeting with an ice breaker can feel off-putting, distracting, and frustrating to people who have work and other obligations waiting for them. Not good manners.

That said, you can have a few casual questions ready if people arrive early, so you're not just sitting around staring into your monitors. Come up with your own or grab some from the internet. Examples include: "What was your favorite childhood movie?", "What's the weirdest thing you've ever smelled?", or "Where would you go on vacation if money were no object?" Keep it clean, naturally.

One More Thing About Backgrounds

You might think your background choice isn't related to manners, but hear me out. In my first article, I talked about background etiquette—ensuring that the view behind you is clean and professional as a courtesy to your colleagues. I also mentioned finding backgrounds in programs like Canva or using the built-in options in your meeting software. However, I should have been more explicit: please avoid backgrounds with moving elements (swimming fish, flying saucers, etc.) and music. Your teammates will thank you.

Look 'em In the Eye

In the face-to-face world, it's considered good manners (at least in Western cultures) to look people in the eye during conversation. The same applies virtually. For that to happen, everyone needs to ensure that: 1) their camera is at eye level, and 2) they're looking at the camera. The first part is straightforward—adjust your camera to eye level. The second is trickier because we typically have the meeting window displayed below the camera, so we're looking down at whoever's speaking. Not ideal and not polite.

Here's the fix: minimize the meeting window and drag it to the top of your screen, right under the camera. If your meeting platform lets you rearrange participants within the window, put the meeting host in the middle. This way, when you look at the top of your screen, it appears you're looking into the camera. My husband, who's more adept at this than me, actually moves people around at the top of his screen during meetings depending on who's talking—though that’s too distracting for me. You get the idea.

Also, make sure your lighting is adequate. You don't need studio lights or those ring lights influencers use. Just ensure you're not sitting in the dark. It's polite to make sure others can easily see you.

The Art of (Virtual) Conversation

When it comes to interacting with teammates, most face-to-face manners apply virtually. For example, everyone should feel welcome to participate, but no one should dominate the conversation.

Technology adds unique challenges, though. When communicating via video, cues are minimal and confusing. Interruptions, awkward silences, and talking over each other are common, making collaboration and fluid interaction difficult.

Here's where pauses become your friend. In virtual conversations, pause more and pause longer than you would in person—enough to fully absorb what someone said. When someone else is talking, it's polite to pause and give a simple nod to show you're listening.

About That Chat Function

Most virtual meetings have a chat feature. I think of it like passing notes in a face-to-face meeting versus putting notes on a shared whiteboard. One is kind of rude and distracting, the other serves a purpose.

In the interest of good etiquette, don't use chat for off-task or personal conversations—save those for after the meeting. But leaders can use the chat function productively for brainstorming ideas or allowing teammates to share links and contacts for later reference.

Little AI Ears Are Listening

One final precautionary note: these days, most meeting programs like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have AI tools running in the background, summarizing what participants say. On one hand, this provides a meeting summary (though I won't debate its quality here). On the other hand, it records things said while you wait for the meeting to start, after it's over, or when discussions get heated. The meeting host can turn this feature off. In the interest of etiquette, I'd recommend hosts at least disable it before and after meetings so people feel comfortable discussing personal matters during these informal periods.

Virtual team leaders juggle a lot when managing team meetings. Etiquette and manners can easily slip through the cracks amid agenda items, strategic planning, and conflict resolution. But it's the little things—like good manners—that ironically make the biggest impact over time when people interact. And they don't cost you anything. In other words, what costs little, yields much.

For more about managing virtual teams, see our virtual teams workshops !

Avoid the Lame, Enjoy the Game: Virtual Team Activities Part Two

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:52:18 GMT

Not all team-building activities are created equal.

Team-building activities are a common tool used by well-meaning managers to try and improve their team’s performance and member satisfaction. However, not all activities are created equal. As I stated in Part 1, a lot of team-building activities are lame. Seriously lame. In Part 1, I outlined three things that should be considered prior to selecting a team-building activity:

Start with your "why" before you pick your "what."
Know your people.
Pick an activity that lends itself to the virtual world .

In Part 2, we’ll talk about the good and the bad when it comes to team activities. I’ll provide a few examples of “lame” activities and talk about why they are lame. Then I’ll provide “good” activities and describe in detail why they are ones you should consider using.

Why Bother with Activities?

With so many lame activities out there, you might wonder if they are worth the effort at all. But good activities have been shown to improve communication, collaborative skills, and productivity, while reducing stress and turnover. So, it’s worth the time to find the “good” ones. Before we look at the good ones, though, let’s look at some lame ones and identify why they are lame so you know what to look out for.

The Lame Ones

Virtual Karaoke

One thing you want to avoid with team activities is shaming or embarrassment. This is not The Voice. Not everyone can sing or wants to sing. And we don’t all want to listen to Bob in Accounting’s rendition of Sweet Child O’ Mine. Individuals singing does not really create team collaboration, collective decision-making, or even trust. And the community building that might come from this activity is negated by the frustration and embarrassment it causes. Give this one a pass.

Online Office Olympics / Scavenger Hunts

Yes, I’ve seen The Office episode, and I enjoyed it. I even saw the Big Bang Theory episode where they did a scavenger hunt, and I liked that one too. Neither were conducted virtually, and neither was really about team building. When you expect adult workers to get up and run around their house to find something in the shape of a triangle or do 15 push-ups, the only result you get are annoyed employees. Enough said.

Murder Mysteries

This one is a bit better, in that it does require team members to communicate with each other and make decisions. But it requires purchasing a specialized program and learning it. Do you (and your employees) have time for that? And are your employees really interested in spending time going around being referred to as “Ms. Scarlett” or “Colonel Mustard?” I didn’t think so.

Good Activities

In Part 1, I listed reasons to do team-building activities:

When you introduce people to each other in a new team
When you introduce a new leader to a team
When team members need to work on process and/or role issues
When team members need to work on collaborative skills
General community-building (trust/personality issues, new member, etc.)

For my paid Substack subscribers , I will provide detailed examples of each of these. I will also include a team-building activity you can use to work on process and decision-making! You will also get this activity if you pay for one of our Virtual Teams Workshops .

Chow for now!

Virtual Meeting Etiquette

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:27:07 GMT

What You’ll Learn:

Virtual meetings can be tricky—technology glitches, camera fatigue, and lack of engagement often get in the way of collaboration. But with the right balance of etiquette and manners, online meetings can be just as effective (and even more enjoyable) than those in person. This article explores research-backed strategies and practical tips to help leaders and team members alike build stronger connections, foster respect, and create a meeting culture that boosts productivity and team cohesion.

�� You can also find this article on my Substack if you’d like to follow along there for future posts and updates.

Some Surprising (and Not-So Surprising) Techniques

My mother always said, “mind your manners.” A simple statement that says a lot.

When it comes to virtual team meetings, that sentiment applies, but there is a lot to unpack. Virtual team meetings have all the challenges of traditional team meetings, with added technological and distance obstacles to overcome that can limit or discourage interaction.

One way to rise above potential problems is by embracing etiquette and manners. Etiquette provides the rules, while manners are the personal expressions of those rules. In this article, I explore ways to incorporate both etiquette and manners to make virtual team meetings more effective, more enjoyable, and more supportive of team building and cohesion.

Does Virtual Meeting Etiquette Really Matter?

In the 21 ^st century, the idea of etiquette and manners being important might seem like something out of Downton Abbey — a “nice” but antiquated notion. However, management research over the past 20 years has demonstrated that etiquette helps maximize good communication and behavior in organizational teams.

For example, Allen and Lehmann-Willenbrock’s 2020 study shows that good meeting behaviors are linked to increased member engagement and decreased emotional exhaustion. Other studies provide support for etiquette-based outcomes, like better decision-making, team cohesion, and increased innovative thinking.

So, what does that exactly mean for virtual teams and the people who lead them? Let’s talk about where and how etiquette and manners impact virtual team meetings:

Cultural Effects

Meetings embody a sense of culture. Some say meeting culture is as important as company culture. I tend to see meeting culture as a reflection of both team and organizational culture. The rules (etiquette) and the expression of those rules (manners) in meetings should reflect the values and norms you see in your team and in your organization. It’s not an exact replica — a team is a small group of people compared to the organization, so teams tend to reflect more of team members’ personalities and perspectives.

As such, savvy team leaders are mindful of culture when deciding on etiquette and manners used in team meetings that reflect those individual member factors. Etiquette and manners should fit the team; members should be able to accept and abide by them.

Before the Meeting

Before each meeting, team leaders can help set the stage for team members and let them know what to expect — a good example of etiquette in action. Create an agenda that outlines what you wish to accomplish and make sure it includes something relevant for each team member. Leaving someone out is demotivating to that person, making them wonder why they were invited.

Members can display good manners by preparing for the meeting. It is polite and smart to review the agenda ahead of time and note how and when to offer ideas or ask questions. You might even offer meeting ideas or material to the leader beforehand.

Another thing that you might not have considered in terms of etiquette and manners: make sure your equipment works properly before the meeting starts. Nothing frustrates people like waiting for a team member to get their video going. Finally, eat before the meeting, not during — nobody wants to see you eating a hoagie while you try to answer a question.

Setting the Stage

Some teams are more formal than others, but wear professional clothes of some type, casual or otherwise, as your team's culture dictates. It is polite to present yourself (leader and members) in your best light. That doesn’t mean you have to be wearing a three-piece suit (or the top half anyway) for a meeting! However, showing up in your pajamas doesn’t exactly set the right tone either.

Have a good background behind you. “Good” is clean, professional, and not distracting. You don’t want to look like you're broadcasting from your Mom’s basement or flying in a video game. Programs like Canva offer nice-looking backgrounds you can use and look on top of your game.

You’ll want that good background behind you because here's a cardinal rule for virtual teams: don’t turn off your video camera! Face-to-face conversations have a strong advantage that virtual interactions can lack — namely, the inclusion of facial expressions and body language.

Some research has considered the issue of “ Zoom fatigue ,” which occurs when people feel overloaded by nonverbal communication cues during videoconferencing. But other research has shown that over 55% of communication is non-verbal in nature, and if your camera is off, so are your non-verbal cues. A 2025 study found that turning the camera off resulted in being perceived as less engaged and less suitable for leadership roles by other group members.

Overall, turning cameras off may reduce fatigue and technical issues, but it comes at the cost of losing important nonverbal communication cues that affect rapport, engagement, and perceived credibility in meetings. People want to connect with other people — being able to see each other makes a huge difference in interaction quality. If you are the team leader, model that behavior and make it clear to members that they are expected to keep their cameras on as well.

Etiquette and manners also demand that you remain mindful of your non-verbal cues during meetings. Facial expressions and body language say a lot about your overall mood and your immediate response to something said. I am not suggesting that you be a carefully controlled robot with no emotions; authenticity is important in team interactions. But you can be mindful: try to look engaged and interested in what your colleagues are saying. Don’t look distracted or bored. The Golden Rule applies — show others the emotions you want them to show to you.

One final (and cardinal) rule: turn off the phone!

This rule may be easier for some people to follow than others but hear me out. You can do without the phone for the duration of the meeting. From a politeness perspective, it demonstrates a willingness to value and pay attention to your team. At the very least, put it on mute and stop looking at it every few minutes.

A Surprising Take on Mics

Most of the articles on virtual meeting etiquette recommend muting your mic when you’re not talking. I disagree — DON’T turn off your mic during meetings. Allow ambient sounds to be heard. That said, you do want to manage majorly distracting noise where you can. Get help with the baby. Close your window if your neighbor has chosen that moment to use his leaf blower. If your dog always lets you know the “evil” UPS truck has pulled up, keep the dog away from windows. But every day, ambient noise should be heard.

Here’s why.

Ambient sound occurs in face-to-face interactions; it’s just part of the experience. One of the problems inherent in virtual interactions is they sound like they’re occurring in a vacuum. Only the person’s voice is heard and there are a lot of pauses. Dr. Jennifer Jordan , a leadership and organizational behavior scholar, notes that virtual conversations can sound disjointed with asynchronous communication rhythms, leading to lost momentum and increased detachedness.

This makes it hard to really connect and slows information flow among everyone. You want to create an experience as close to face-to-face as possible and that ambient noise helps create a comfortable background bed of sound for more “real world” communication.

In the Meeting

First thing: be on time or early.

Time is a facet of culture, and in the U.S., it’s considered polite to be there when the meeting begins, if not early. Being a few minutes early allows you to interact informally with teammates and set the mood. Team leaders should arrive early to model the behavior and have a chance for social interactions. Guests and new members to the team should be introduced and welcomed. Make sure to introduce and welcome guests and new team members, giving newcomers a few minutes to share about themselves and interact informally.

For Team Leaders

Virtual meetings are an important way for leaders to build relationships, convey and receive information, and take the team's pulse. But they're also a significant opportunity to model behavior and build cultural awareness around etiquette norms. The old parenting adage "actions speak louder than words" applies here—team members will follow the leader's behavior over time.

Since your agenda involves each member, use those moments to support people they talk. Praise members for showing empathy, asking questions, building on ideas of others, etc. (One note: provide constructive (negative) feedback privately to members if if someone's meeting behavior was lacking.)

Let your employees do most of the talking.

Leading the meeting doesn’t mean dominating it. Show curiosity, ask for others opinions before sharing your own, and actively listen. This powerfully engages and empower people, while reinforcing etiquette norms.

Use the chat function for specific items like links or files. Also discourage side conversations in chat during the meeting, as it distracts participants and is counterproductive. If something needs saying, say it to everyone or wait until after.

Keep track of time.

Running long is rude and disrespectful of people's time—try to finish a few minutes early. Cognitive science and educational psychology shows that adults’ capacity to focus and engage in a meeting is really no longer than 30 minutes. For longer meetings, take breaks around that mark. (Realize that however long you say the break will be, it will be at least half again as long.) To refocus people afterward, use a quick poll question related to the next agenda item. In fact, it is wise to use a “button” poll that is related to the discussion about every 15 minutes to keep people engaged. (AI can help generate these poll questions beforehand.)

When the meeting is done, thank members for attending and engaging.

Afterward, create a short summary of the meeting and distribute it to everyone who attended. Make sure there is an action item for each team member. These days, it is popular to use AI to create these summaries but be careful — the results can vary widely and be pretty awful, so read it and revise as needed before sending it out.

For Team Members

Members have a responsibility for observing team etiquette and manners. Let’s start with a big one: stay engaged and look engaged . Nothing kills the mood faster than someone who looks bored while others are talking. Same goes for looking distracted.

How do you avoid this? Keep your eyes on the camera, not looking down at your keyboard or to the side. One helpful practice: minimize the meeting window and arrange people’s faces along the top of the screen.

Don’t multitask during meetings! You might think you’re the one person who can hold a substantive conversation AND play solitaire, but most of us aren’t that good at truly engaging while doing something else.

Instead of just trying to look engaged, actually be engaged. Ask questions and raise concerns. Support your teammates and leader by praising obvious effort, building on others' comments, and having ideas prepared to offer

End On a High Note

As things wrap up, continue respecting virtual meeting etiquette and manner norms. Leaders should thank members for their participation and members should thank leaders for their guidance and agenda preparation. One interesting technique: ask each member to add one “take-away” from the meeting in the chat. This involves everyone and gives leaders a way to assess meeting success.

Bottom Line

Emily Post noted that “manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.” In virtual team meetings, manners also represent team culture and strengthen relationships. Teams that create etiquette and manner norms — and then actually use them — will experience increased member satisfaction, better decision-making and innovation, and greater team cohesion. All of this leads to successful team outcomes.

As usual, Mom was right.

�� If you’d like to dive deeper into building stronger, more effective virtual teams, check out our Virtual Teams Workshop . It’s designed to help leaders and team members put these etiquette and communication strategies into practice, turning everyday meetings into powerful tools for connection and collaboration.

Lame Virtual Team Activities, Part One: How to Avoid Them

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:58:26 GMT

Some team-building activities make great party fun, but aren't really great as work-centered team activities. Read on to find out more about selecting effective virtual team-building activities.

Most of us have survived at least one company-wide meeting that included "team activities." You know the ones – you can practically hear the collective groan echoing through the hall. If you are one of those people who thinks conducting a murder mystery case in a workplace context is a good idea, you might want to move on to another post. For everyone else, read on.

Let’s just say it: a lot of team-building activities are lame. Lame activities make people uncomfortable and frustrated about wasted time. That’s the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. When you're leading virtual teams – where communication is already constrained by technology and often happens asynchronously – effective team building becomes even trickier. All considered — team building can be a daunting task for a virtual team leader.

Don’t get me wrong: virtual team building really matters. Developing things like trust and cohesion can be tremendously hard through a screen. Given this, teams working virtually face an immense challenge — one that can be aided by engaging, meaningful team-oriented activities.

But here's the thing – when you're dealing with professional adults, you need to respect their time and intelligence, as well as the work context they are in. Some of the lamer virtual team-building activities I have encountered are great for a party or informal get-together; not so much for a virtual work setting.

And there is a wealth of lame virtual team-building activities out there. Virtual escape rooms, charades, and scavenger hunts are entertaining, but really – is it worth the time and effort? This doesn’t mean you can’t have “fun” team-building activities – you can. The key is keeping things professional, purposeful, and (usually) brief. Don’t make people feel silly, or embarrassed, or frustrated. Make them feel engaged, purposeful, and relaxed.

So how should a virtual team leader pick a “good” virtual team-building activity? Here are a few tips:

Start with your "why" before you pick your "what."

Too often, leaders do team-building activities just to do them — the “Build It and They Will Learn” approach. But learn what? Is this a new team that would greatly benefit from building trust and comfort with each other? Is your team struggling with unclear roles and responsibilities? Are you the new leader trying to establish credibility and rapport? Is there a complicated project on the horizon that cries out for team cohesion and collaborative skills? Once you know your goal, choosing the right activity becomes easier.

Know your people .

You need to understand the personality, experiences, and interests of each of your team members. This involves having one-on-one conversations with them, especially if you are the new team leader. If you know your people, you can make more informed activity decisions.

Pick an activity that lends itself to the virtual world .

Remember that you are constrained by technological limitations here. Video conferencing helps somewhat with interpreting vocal inflection and facial expressions, but it's still not the same as being in the same room. Plus, your team-building activity is competing with distractions you can't control like email, text messages, or the cat walking across the keyboard. So the activity needs to be engaging enough to hold their attention while working smoothly within your tech setup.

The bottom line? Effective virtual team building requires more forethought and purpose-driven action and less murders or scavenger clues.

In Part Two of this series, I'll dive into specific, lame examples of what doesn't work — and what does. Check back next week for the good, the bad, and the painfully awkward!

And check out our Leading Virtual Teams workshops here on our website!

Virtual Transformational Leadership: The New Superpower

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:21:09 GMT

In this post, we explore how transformational leadership can aid virtual team leaders in their efforts to reach their members more effectively and meaningfully.

Virtual teams (VT) face challenges that are dynamic, isolating, and utterly different from office-based teams. This requires the person in charge — the VT leader — to find an approach that speaks to those characteristics. To that end, consider the concept of virtual transformational leadership (VTL), which conveys the values and behaviors of VT leaders who adopt the transformational mindset.

Individuals Matter in VTL

People work better when they feel noticed, valued, and heard. Transformational leadership focuses on leaders who recognize this. In virtual teams, where members often work alone and dispersed, it takes effort on the part of the leader to achieve this.

A frequent complaint I hear from VT members is they feel isolated in their work. Online team meetings characterized by no video and muted mics can make collaboration seem like it is happening in a void. One-on-one interactions with the VT leader can be infrequent and one-sided, with the leader doing most of the talking.

With VTL, leaders work consciously to develop each member of the team from afar, bearing in mind their unique strengths and weaknesses. Any VT leader worth his or her salt knows that in a virtual context, people have to feel confident in their ability to work well independently while also working collaboratively with team members who aren’t sitting in the next cubicle.

VT leaders need to get to know each person on the team at a richer level than “that’s Bob from Marketing or Joan from Accounting.” Such relationship-oriented knowledge allows leaders to act as a coach for each team member across miles, helping team members grow and evolve.

Make time for individualized interactions with team members. During such interactions, ask questions that relate to each person’s current situation and what they seek in terms of personal and professional goals. Actively listen to what members have to say, about themselves, their work, or the challenges they are facing.

VTL is About Stimulating Work

In 1936, Charlie Chaplin made the film Modern Times about factory workers engaged in monotonous, mind-numbing, and depersonalized work. Chaplin’s character struggles because his creativity is underutilized and communication is limited to managerial-made demands. He literally becomes a cog in the organization’s machine, runs amok, and eventually causes a factory-wide catastrophe.

People like work that makes them feel challenged and stimulated on a regular basis. Transformational leadership invokes the need for leaders to foster critical thinking and push for new and exciting ways to solve problems. VT leaders should engage workers through coaching, have them consider problems from different perspectives, and take risks.

Engaging workers in stimulating work from remote locations can be hard, but don’t let these constraints stop you from doing it. In a virtual setting, interactions serve two crucial functions from the VTL perspective. First, they help engagement occur, and second, they build trust and a sense of community for virtual members whose primary interaction is often limited to their dog. With trust, VT leaders can work to better engage team members in what they do.

Stimulating work and interactions only occurs in a climate of psychological safety, where members feel free to offer suggestions, take risks, and make mistakes. All it takes is one overly harsh response from the boss when they offer an idea to kill a team member’s motivation going forward in a virtual context.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft since 2014, exemplifies what it means for leaders to provide psychological safety. In a culture that infamously made employees afraid to admit mistakes or ask questions, Nadella makes a point of admitting his own mistakes, encouraging workers to take risks, and showing interest in his employees’ ideas.

VTL Inspires People

Transformational leadership demands a particular attitude and set of behaviors on the part of the leader themselves: leaders must inspire the people they lead.

For VTL, that means creating an authentic sense of interest about team goals and the team’s future. Not only that, but leaders should also communicate clearly about how goals may be reached and how each member factors into the equation. Members are more likely to listen and be inspired when you make them an active, essential component to the process.

Consider a VT leader who has scheduled a weekly online team meeting, conducted via video conferencing. She can go through the agenda herself, trudging through topics while members email colleagues or play solitaire. Or she can ask questions, call people out for their opinions and ideas, and publicly praise a team member for initiative. Even better, she can privately discuss each member’s potential contribution to the forthcoming meeting before it begins. Yes – this takes time. But it is time well spent, especially if the meeting is strategic in nature.

Ensure positive results by modeling the behavior you want to see in the team during one-on-one or collaborative sessions online. Anyone who is a parent will tell you that actions speak louder than words. If you tell a member they are a valuable part of the team, and then in meetings the only one who contributes is you, that sends a message to that member not to care.

Inspirational leaders make remote workers want to get up from their kitchen table and get to work. VTL demands that leaders hold virtual followers to high standards of performance, and they demonstrate those standards in their own behaviors.

You don’t have to be a “charismatic” person to effectively employ VTL, but you do have to interact with and involve people using all the tools at your disposal. And I argue that the most crucial tool the virtual leader has is communication.

Communication and VTL

For virtual workers, communication is a lifeline, both in terms of direction and human connection. Research indicates that virtual workers need more intentional, structured, and clear interactions from their leaders.

That said, virtual communication is limited. It lacks nonverbal cues and is prone to be asynchronous in nature. Frequent, clear, authentic, and meaningful communication that requires both the leader and the team member(s) to play an active role is essential for VTL to flourish.

The idea of transformational leadership is to put the worker front and center in everything you do, especially in dynamic, complex environments. Given this, VTL offers virtual leaders a valuable perspective that enables the virtual team to flourish. When leaders embrace the perspective and techniques of VTL, they make a difference in the work lives of their members and in the outcomes of the virtual team overall.

Learn more about how virtual team leaders can make a difference in their teams with our Virtual Team Leader workshops !

The Tendon Effect: How Casual Conversation Transforms Virtual Team Performance

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:11:20 GMT

Virtual teams need informal, "non work" talk to really perform

When people have a face-to-face meeting in a workplace setting, non-work topics pop up all the time, especially before and after the meeting. For instance:

“How was your weekend?”

“My son’s team won their soccer game!”

“I can’t believe Ben Johnson had the Bears go for a 2-point conversion…”

“I found a great new recipe for pesto chicken – you want it?”

“Did you see Sinners yet – it is awesome!”

While this type of interaction can seem incidental and unimportant, it actually represents a vital and necessary aspect of coworker/team communication. I think of it as “tendon” topics: interactions among coworkers, seemingly unrelated to work itself, that actually creates ties and makes it easier for people to interact when it matters.

Tendons are the connective cords that act as a bridge between muscle and bone. Muscles and bones get most of the attention, but tendons allow for the transmission of force between these two body parts. They make movement and flexibility possible.

In virtual teams, “tendon” communication happens less frequently. The asynchronous nature of technologically based interaction makes tendon communication harder. Exchanges can seem disjointed, pauses cause awkward lags, or people start talking at the same time, leading to apologies and more awkward pauses. But this communication is just as important — or even more important — in virtual teams as it is with face-to-face teams.

Dr. Jennifer Jordan, a professor of leadership and Organizational Behavior, calls it OIS: open information sharing. Research shows that OIS predicts team effectiveness because of its capacity to create bonds among team members; a sense of comradeship. The ironic thing is OIS, or tendon communication represents exactly the kind of communication needed in virtual teams. Virtual teams can be highly task oriented. Nothing wrong with that on its face, but a team that only interacts about work-related topics will exhibit less team cohesion and lower member satisfaction.

So what can a virtual team leader do to encourage more tendon communication? Model the behavior and proactively work to make it happen among team members. I heard of an interesting meeting opener the other day. The leader asks members how they are doing and members respond with a one-word answer: red, yellow, or green (like a stoplight). Red means the person is feeling overwhelmed or down, yellow means ok, not great, and green means good and ready to go. Now, this requires a certain amount of trust among the team, but it can be a good way for a team that is familiar with each other to take a quick pulse of the overall team mood. Knowing how each member is doing helps the leader know how to proceed.

There are numerous other things that leaders can do. Model the behavior by talking about their own weekend. Talk about their upcoming vacation plans or the funny thing their kid did at dinner the other night. Seemingly innocuous topics, but it gets the “tendons” loosened up and ready to go.

Take a quick break at a natural pause in the meeting and do a (short!) poll about the team’s favorite ice cream flavor. Before or after a meeting starts, celebrate “Speak Like a Pirate Day.” Yes, these things are frivolous and lighthearted — that is the point. You will be surprised at how well the meeting flows and how productive it can be when you make time for tendon communication.

One thing to keep in mind when talking virtually – emotional cues (and cues in general) in the virtual world need to be amplified a bit to help members get into the spirit. Set an example for the team by taking your comments up a bit in excitement or focus. Be positive and encouraging when other members follow suit. It doesn’t have to be clownish or over-the-top; just more engaging. Make sure everyone has their video and mics open to catch responses, eye contact, facial expressions, and vocal inflection.

So in your next virtual team meeting, try warming things up with a little tendon communication. Over time, you might see work-talk become more productive and flexible.

And consider taking my workshops about virtual teams to learn a lot more about how to make virtual teams effective and motivating!

Beyond Yes Men: How Great Leaders Build Cultures That Challenge Them

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 16:49:24 GMT

Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation.

- Doris Kearns Goodwin, American biographer, historian

From a cultural standpoint, organizations should work to create an atmosphere that values and emphasizes tolerance, openness, and psychological safety. Employees should feel safe and free to ask questions, offer ideas, take risks, and make mistakes. Whether this happens is largely dependent on leadership — leaders who aren’t afraid to hear opinions and thoughts that might challenge/differ from their own. Goodwin notes this in her quote.

As she describes in her book, Team of Rivals, Lincoln built his cabinet around people who had been his political rivals. Why? Because he wasn’t interested in “yes men”; he wanted people who made him think. One big clue that you are dealing with a weak leader is when he/she surrounds themselves with people who only agree, never question. Enter groupthink.

Make sure your organizational culture represents a diverse, strong culture of people who all want to make the company successful and are willing to contribute their own unique perspective and experiences to make it happen.

What Makes Student Teams Projects Actually Work?

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:56:33 GMT

Successful teams share characteristics of success

Roles for Students in Group Work

Student team projects come in all shapes and sizes—different purposes, project goals, personalities, and experience levels. That said, successful teams all tend to share certain characteristics that made success possible. Let's dive into what really makes teams tick.

Communication and Psychological Safety: The Foundation

Communication is the foundation upon which all good team endeavors sit. If team members can’t (or don’t) communicate effectively, tasks are forgotten, conflict erupts, and goals are left in the dust. But communication isn't just about talking — it's about creating an environment where everyone feels safe to speak up, ask questions, and throw out ideas without fear of judgment.

This is where psychological safety comes in. Team members need to feel heard and valued during every interaction and meeting. When people feel "safe" in their team environment, they're more likely to contribute meaningfully and catch potential problems before they become disasters.

For instructors : Make it clear that professional, open, and purpose-driven communication is non-negotiable. Walk your students through best practices for team interaction and emphasize why every member needs to feel heard and essential to the team's success.

Interdependency: More Than Just Dividing Up the Work

Here's where many student teams go wrong: they tend to split the work into pieces that each member completes on his/her own and then they throw these pieces together at the last minute. (Note to students: your instructor can tell that is what your team did.) I call this the " parallel play " approach—think of two toddlers sitting next to each other, each playing with their own toy. They're in the same space, but they're not actually playing together .

Real teamwork requires interdependency . Members need to rely on each other, work with each other, and feel accountable to each other. Research consistently shows that teams perform better when members feel they're genuinely necessary to their teammates' success.

For instructors : Don't let students default to the parallel play option. Instead, provide specific, approved methods for collaboration that actually support the project you've assigned. Also have conversations about accountability, backed up with peer evaluations that include accountability as a key component.

Collective Understanding: Getting Everyone on the Same Page

When team members share a clear understanding of goals, roles, and team norms, everything runs smoother. It's pretty simple: when everyone understands these things, the project runs smoother. Specifically, when members understand how to act and communicate in their team, negative conflict and misunderstandings decrease.

For instructors : Consider making Team Member Agreements a required part of your team project assignments. These agreements force students to have important conversations about goals, roles, and norms right from the start. (Bonus: these agreements are used in real-world professional settings, so you're giving students practical experience they'll actually use later.)

The Bottom Line

Setting your students up with these fundamentals—strong communication with psychological safety, genuine interdependency, and collective understanding—creates a solid foundation for successful student team projects. And when student team projects succeed, students walk away with valuable perspectives and a real understanding about how teamwork actually works. That's the ultimate goal, isn't it?

Our Workshop

In our Student Team Projects Workshop , I work with participants to develop student team projects that achieve the goals discussed above ... and more! Find out about this workshop here on our website.

Beyond the Mute Button: Transform Virtual Meetings from Time-Wasters to Team-Builders

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 11:00:11 GMT

If you are like me, you often sigh when you know you have a meeting coming up. Meetings can feel like productivity black holes—no structure, no energy, and honestly, no clear reason for existing. Virtual meetings? They're often even worse. People show up in body only, cameras off, muted, or clearly multitasking their way through whatever's happening on screen.

But there are things that team leaders can do to make virtual meetings useful and engaging. In fact, virtual meetings are opportunities to connect with members and for members to connect with each other. In this post, we’ll talk about managing virtual meetings and what to do once you are in them. As team leader, you have the ability to transform these digital gatherings from dreaded time-wasters into meaningful opportunities for your team to connect and get stuff done.

Make Every Meeting Matter

First thing to remember: everyone is busy and may not be jumping for joy about the prospect of having to make time for another meeting. So right off the bat, virtual meetings should be announced in advance (ideally, as part of a regular schedule or meeting routine) and distribute an agenda ahead of time that clearly describes the purpose of the meeting and whether attendees are expected to do anything in advance or in preparation for it. (Sure, emergencies happen and sometimes you need to call an urgent team huddle, but that should be the exception, not your go-to move.)

Set Ground Rules That Actually Work

Some companies have "topless" meetings (calm down—that means no laptops). In virtual meetings, that's obviously not realistic. But you can still create norms that encourage real engagement.

Gently but firmly discourage multitasking. Make it clear that you want people to be fully present, not half-listening while they tackle their inbox or play solitaire. And here's a counterintuitive tip: ditch the mute button as much as possible. Research shows that ambient noise—the dog barking, the baby crying—actually humanizes virtual meetings and makes them feel less sterile. (Unfortunately, Zoom has filters in place now that damp down such noise, but you can try.) When someone's cat inevitably walks across their screen, lean into it. Let people enjoy the moment.

The key is explaining the why behind these expectations. Help your team understand that asking questions, responding to each other, and actually connecting during meetings is how trust and relationships develop. It's not just about getting through the agenda—it's about building something together.

Model the Behavior You Want to See

As the team leader, you're setting the tone for everything that happens in that virtual space. How you listen, how you respond, how you handle conflict—it all matters more than you might think.

Model active listening . Keep conflict productive and focused on ideas, not personalities. When you see collaborative behavior, call it out and celebrate it. If someone highlights a teammate's success or builds on someone else's idea, acknowledge that publicly. You're not just running a meeting—you're shaping your team's culture one interaction at a time.

Share the Spotlight

If you're the only one talking, you're doing it wrong. Virtual meetings work best when they're actual conversations, not one-person monologues with a captive audience. Call on people to share what they're working on. Ask for input and ideas. Consider having the team discuss agenda items in small groups, then come back together to share their collective thinking. The more people actively participate in real dialogue, the more value everyone gets from the time investment.

The Bottom Line

Virtual meetings—like their in-person counterparts—are opportunities to build team cohesion, strengthen relationships, and reinforce the behaviors that make your team effective. Don't just march through your agenda items. Create space for connection and collaboration.

Your team members (and their cats) will thank you for it.

3 Virtual Team Leadership Challenges (And How to Fix Them)

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 16:25:45 GMT

Things virtual team leaders can do to make their team better.

Challenges of Virtual Teams

Leading a virtual team (VT) involves a lot of challenges. Sure, some challenges are the same as traditional team management, but others are completely unique to the remote world. And then there are the challenges that exist everywhere but are amplified when your team is scattered across time zones.

Let's dive into three of these challenges — and more importantly, let’s talk about what you can actually do about them.

" My people don't feel like their work matters ."

This one hits every team leader at some point, but it can be especially prevalent in virtual settings. Why? Because it’s easy for remote workers to feel like they're working in a vacuum, wondering if anyone even notices what they're doing.

The fix: Communicate more than feels necessary. I know — VT leaders are already drowning in video calls and emails. But you need to check in with remote workers more often than seems logical. And here's the key part: be specific about why their work matters.

Don't just say "great job" or "you're valued." Tell them exactly how their work connects to the bigger picture. Explain how what they did last week helped their teammates hit a deadline. Show them how their project moves the team closer to its strategic goal. And don't forget the personal angle—help them see how this work is building their skills and advancing their career.

" My people don't feel challenged ."

Let's be honest: working from your kitchen table or spare bedroom/playroom isn't the most inspiring setup. Boredom and inertia can creep in fast when you're isolated from the energy of face-to-face interaction.

Virtual team leaders can tackle this in two ways that might seem contradictory but actually work great together:

Give them structured challenges. Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) to create tasks that feel meaningful and rewarding. Research backs this up—these kinds of goals make work more engaging.

Let them create their own challenges. This is where things get interesting. Some companies do "Freedom Fridays" where employees can work on whatever interests them for a full day. People love having choice and control over their work. Pro tip: have a quick weekly meeting where everyone shares what they worked on during their freedom time. This can create accountability and inspire more good ideas within the team.

" My people want more growth opportunities ."

Smart VT leaders invest in growing their team's capabilities. One great way to do this is to have growth opportunities that connect members with other people.

Set up cross-mentoring pairs within your team. Let people teach each other their specialized skills through cross-training sessions. Have team members share knowledge from their different experiences and backgrounds. This approach is golden because it tackles multiple issues at once: people grow professionally, they feel challenged, their work feels meaningful, and they build stronger connections with their teammates.

Plus, when you create these learning partnerships, you're fostering understanding across different generations and backgrounds, something that can be harder to achieve naturally in remote settings.

The Bottom Line

When you nail these three areas—meaning, challenge, and growth, something powerful happens. You're not just making individual team members happier (though you are doing that). You're building a stronger, more resilient virtual team that actually performs better.

Investment in intentional communication, creative challenges, and connection-building growth opportunities pays off in ways that go far beyond individual satisfaction. Your team becomes more engaged, more productive, and frankly, more fun to lead.

In the virtual leadership world, these aren't nice-to-have skills—they're the difference between teams that thrive and teams that just survive.

How “Mattering” Matters in Virtual Teams: Building a Connection

Mon, 19 May 2025 16:45:43 GMT

Make People Feel Valued in Virtual Teams

Mattering in the workplace

Just read a terrific article in the Harvard Business Review called "The Power of Mattering" by Zach Mercurio . While it wasn't specifically about virtual teams (VTs), it could have been!

Virtual team leaders face a huge challenge: how do you make remote team members feel valued in the virtual realm? Remote workers often feel disconnected and isolated. That's why VT leaders need to overcommunicate - yes, even more than may you think. When your team is virtual, that connection with both colleagues and the leader can feel out of reach.

Mercurio defines " mattering " as "the experience of feeling significant to those around us because we feel valued and know that we add value." Don't we all need that? When virtual team members feel valued, it creates a powerful intrinsic motivator - motivation that comes from within. Research shows this can be even more effective than extrinsic motivators like money! He points out that "mattering" isn't about perks or compensation - it comes from regular personal interactions.

For virtual teams, these interactions are crucial given the physical separation from peers and leadership. The article is worth reading in full, but here are a few ways I think Mercurio's research applies to virtual teams:

Truly see and hear your people . Get to know them deeply. Create what Mercurio calls "a climate of psychological safety" where team members feel comfortable sharing their experiences and perspectives. Working virtually can be a lonely experience in which the member feels the work they do falls into a vacuum, never to be heard from again. Your team needs to know they matter, know how their input relates to the team’s outcomes, and know that the team cares that they're there. One way to accomplish this is to actively listen and ask questions that show genuine interest in them as individuals.
Make people feel special and part of something special . This isn't about an occasional thank-you or free pizza coupons. People need to "experience their unique significance through their relationships with others." Highlight each person's strengths and how they're essential to the team. Help them see that their work matters to the bigger picture.
Build a culture where mattering matters . Mercurio calls this "optimizing the environment." Beyond rewarding productivity, recognize people for how they make teammates feel. Do they support others? Show respect? One practical tip: schedule weekly casual chats for the team. Work talk is fine, but the real goal is creating a safe space to connect, vent, laugh, and build community.

Working on a virtual team can be lonely. The more a leader makes people feel they matter, the better their experience will be - and the better the entire team will perform.

Student Team Project Trauma: The (Not-So) Hidden Emotional Cost to Students – Part 2

Tue, 06 May 2025 19:22:57 GMT

In my last post, I talked about the emotional downsides students face during student team projects. Everyone has that "student team project from hell" story – whether it's about slackers contributing nothing, control freaks taking over, or endless arguments about when to meet.

As instructors, we can't ignore these issues. Bad team experiences create individuals who dread or outright avoid collaborative work – not a good (or even realistic) attitude to have in today’s workplace reality.

I cover these and other challenges and solutions in depth in my Student Team Projects Workshop (reach out if you're interested in this virtual workshop). In addition to the workshop, participants receive a set of useful handouts and assessment methods, as well as a series of 3 short videos to upload for students that provides information they need to work well in student team projects. But for now, let’s go briefly through some things instructors should keep in mind when developing and using student team projects.

Dealing with Slackers

Slackers drive students crazy. One effective approach: assess both team AND individual contributions. Research shows this combo reduces slacking and improves attitudes. Individual assessment works well through peer evaluations – I suggest making these worth 10 -20% of the project grade. Interestingly, this dual accountability approach works in real-world teams too.

Communication is Key

Transparency matters! Tell students WHY you're assigning group work and include "building collaborative skills" as an explicit goal of any student team project. Explain the purpose of peer evaluations and make yourself available for issues. That said, encourage students to try resolving problems themselves first – just like they'll need to do in their future careers.

Watch the Weighting

Don't make team projects worth too much of the course grade. I've seen syllabi where 35-50% of the course grade depends on team outcomes, which cranks up student anxiety about grades hinging on others' efforts. I typically keep team projects at around 20% of the total grade.

By tackling slacking, prioritizing transparency, and keeping point values reasonable, you'll dramatically improve student attitudes about collaborative work – and probably save your own sanity too!

Student Team Project Trauma: The (Not-So) Hidden Emotional Cost to Students

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:08:51 GMT

The other day, I saw a Reddit post from a graduate student that troubled me. This student wrote that student team projects were "changing (their) perception about people and further trashing (their) mental health." Troubling? Yes. Surprising? Not really. Poorly designed student team projects can really take a toll on students' wellbeing, and as instructors, we need to tackle this head-on.

So why do we keep assigning student team projects? Simple - companies across all fields (not just business) want graduates who know how to collaborate. It’s not a frivolous request. Collaborative work is becoming increasingly common in today's workplace, and students need real experience working with others before entering the job market.

The emotional fallout from bad student team experiences is real. Students mention stress, anxiety, and feeling emotionally drained. Many avoid confronting teammates about issues because they don't feel safe asking questions, raising concerns, offering suggestions - that's a lack of what we call psychological safety . Over time, students can develop learned helplessness - the feeling that nothing they do will make any difference.

The result? Students who absolutely dread group work. Research backs this up too. A 2023 NIH study found that 61.7% of students preferred working independently, while only a tiny 0.9% reported liking “just” collaborative learning in a class.

What's causing all this angst? The biggest culprit is social loafing - aka free riding or "slacking". The Reddit poster mentioned, "I'm the one asking for updates and sending reminders all the time." As a professor with many student team projects under my belt, I can attest that many students end up feeling like they're shouldering the entire project while others coast along.

But flip the coin, and you'll find students who feel micromanaged by "bossy" teammates who "take over the entire assignment and do everything before we can get to it." This points to another common issue: differences in work timing. Some people like to chip away at projects steadily, while others prefer to tackle things closer to the deadline (and no, that's not the same as waiting till the last minute - it's about work style).

Sometimes, problems occur even when instructors try to make things better for students in team projects. The instructor thinks, “I’ll let them select their own teams – that will make them happy.” However, research has shown that the end results prove the opposite. In one study, students reported by a two-to-one ratio that their worst group work experiences were with self-formed groups!

In my next post, I'll share some practical strategies for designing team projects that don't just work but actually build self-confidence, trust, and team cohesion. Because teamwork doesn't have to be a nightmare.

The Game is Afoot: Organizational Culture Assessment by Sherlock Holmes

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 19:52:02 GMT

Like the legendary Sherlock Holmes, leaders can use deductive reasoning to uncover their organization's true culture. Holmes' method of drawing conclusions from specific observations is surprisingly effective for understanding organizational culture.

As Holmes noted in A Study in Scarlet , "From a drop of water... (you can) infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara." Similarly, your company's culture reveals itself through observable "clues" or cultural artifacts like :

· Rules (both explicit and implicit)

· Behavioral norms

· Dress codes

· Office environment

· Rituals and traditions

· Company "urban legends"

· Industry jargon

Consider this real-world example: Compare a high-end retailer like Nordstrom with a thrift store like Goodwill. Beyond price differences, notice the lighting, merchandise presentation, employee-customer interactions, staff attire, and overall ambiance. These artifacts reveal distinct cultures; neither is "wrong" but designed for different purposes.

Among other things, my workshop explores these concepts further, including Holmes' use of " deductive syllogism " as a practical tool for cultural analysis. Interested in learning more? Let's talk about bringing this workshop to your organization!

Managing Virtual Teams Best Practices: What Restaurants Can Teach Us

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 19:46:46 GMT

The other day, my husband (who works in a virtual team) was participating in a weekly online "mid-morning chat" with his colleagues. One team member shared her experience working in the restaurant industry during her younger days. She maintained that everyone should work in retail or restaurants at some point to learn about timing and process .

That got me thinking. She's right for numerous reasons, and this wisdom absolutely applies to virtual teams. As dispersed members collaborate on complex goals, keeping timing and process in mind becomes essential.

Let's start with timing . We know that everyone needs to work from the same strategic page regarding task deadlines and key milestones. However, equally important is understanding each individual team member's personal timing preferences.

People naturally develop different approaches to pacing their work. Some work steadily throughout a project, preferring to distribute effort evenly. Others thrive when working closer to deadlines, concentrating their energy in later stages. (To be clear: I'm not talking about procrastinating till the last minute or slacking – – it’s a matter of degree.)

Research shows that in terms of work quality, both approaches can be equally effective! The challenge in virtual teams is enabling people with different pacing preferences to collaborate smoothly. Team members need to acknowledge their own timing preferences while remaining mindful of others'. It might take a conversation (or three) before everyone feels comfortable with the team's timing dynamics. Some compromise among members benefits both the team and the individual.

Timing also depends significantly on the project type and virtual team processes . Simply put, process is about how people get things done. In the virtual context, processes become critical for managing interaction and interdependency among team members.

How frequently do virtual team members need to interact? What form should these interactions take? Are they primarily scheduled and regular, or more interdependent and spontaneous? While these questions matter for all teams, virtual teams especially benefit from explicit conversations about these dynamics, given the technological mediation of their interactions.

Restaurant workers intimately understand timing and process — nobody wants a cold burger or appetizers arriving after the main course. And there's much more to process and timing in virtual teams than I've mentioned here. To learn more, schedule one of my virtual workshops about effective virtual team management !

3 "Myths" Students Believe About Student Team Projects

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:48:38 GMT

Over the years I have used a lot of student team projects in my college courses, and I always get an earful from my students about that. It's typical for students to dread student team projects, and I can't say I blame them. In my Organizational Behavior course, teamwork is actually one of the topics students are expected to learn about. Inevitably, our class discussions on teams bring out the frustrations and misconceptions students have about collaborative learning.

Student team projects are common in college courses. They are often used by instructors who are well-versed in the knowledge of their fields, but who don't understand how to construct team projects that help students learn collaborative skills. As such, students end up with negative impressions of teamwork and are left wondering why these experiences are so often poor.

These "bad" teams, coupled with students' lack of work experience, result in incorrect beliefs about collaborative work and negatively affect their engagement and excitement about working in teams. In a future post, I will write about the role of instructors and how they might improve their team projects. For now, let's talk about three common "myths" students hold with regard to student team projects.

Myth #1: “Real teams don’t have these problems.”

Students think that all the problems they have in student team projects disappear when working in "real-world" team environments. For example, students don't think social loafing (or "free riding") will occur at work, since people are trying to hold onto their jobs and act professionally. They also assume that the purpose/goal of a work project will be clearly stated and understood by all team members. A lot of students wait until close to a deadline to work on a project, but believe that will not be the case in organizational teams. Or they might mistakenly think the resources they need for a team project will always be readily available. The grass is always greener when it comes to organizational teamwork.

The reality, however, is very different. In organizational work, people sometimes slack, goals can be unclear or go unexplained, members may be left waiting for another member's work to be completed, or resources may be lacking. It's important for instructors to have discussions with their students about potential problems that can (and do) occur in organizational teams in their respective fields, and draw comparisons to students' experiences in student team projects. In addition, savvy instructors can encourage good practices in the way they construct, assess, and communicate about student team projects in their courses.

Myth #2: “The grade is the only thing that matters.”

Of course, the grade they receive is important to students and it is reasonable to think about that, from their perspective. However, it is equally important for students to appreciate what else they gain from a student team experience.

A grade-centric perspective is particularly prevalent when instructors don't discuss the reasons behind team assignments. Why are students being asked to work in teams? How does working in a team for a particular assignment ultimately make them better employees and collaborators? This needs to be communicated clearly to students, along with the general overall benefits students gain from working in a collaborative environment. Along with such discussions, I insist that student teams talk about, determine, and formally state 1-2 goals for their project that have nothing to do with grades. For these discussions to happen, however, instructors have to know the answers to these questions themselves and believe the answers are important.

Myth #3: "When our student team is having a problem, I don't need to tell my instructor."

Some students are more than willing to let their instructor know if there is a problem within their team. However, I have found that the majority of students suffer in silence. This can be due to a variety of reasons, but the end result is the same - a poor team experience and an unhappy, confused student. Students must be encouraged to communicate when issues arise, but to do so within a framework and process that mirrors what they can expect to encounter in organizational contexts. in my workshop, I share such a framework with instructors and provide ways to interact positively and effectively with students in the role as instructor.

Creating meaningful teamwork for students

I have had my share of bad experiences and frustrating interactions with students about working in teams. In fact, I had quite a few bad team experiences as a student myself.

Using student team projects can be daunting for instructors; at times, instructors may wonder why they are using team projects at all. In my workshop, I try to help instructors avoid these problems. I provide the tools instructors need to promote positive team experiences, in addition to the domain-oriented knowledge students are learning in the project.

I encourage you to reach out to me about scheduling my student teams workshop where we work toward this goal. You can find information about this workshop (and others) on the workshop page of this website.

Student Team Projects: Traumatized by Teamwork

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 16:47:17 GMT

Challenges of Teamwork

Let's be honest — teamwork is tough, and we often start dreading it way earlier than you'd think. I was chatting with a friend recently who told me about her son's foray into teamwork. He came home from school and announced to her that he hated working in teams. (In 4th grade!) His grand plan? Become a doctor so he could work solo. He was not thrilled when his mom explained that doctors actually spend a lot of their time collaborating with others.

Most parents probably have a similar story to tell. I remember my own son's elementary school team horror stories. He made it clear that he did not like working in teams either. He didn’t like everyone on his team. Furthermore, he felt like he had to do more work than some of the others in his team. “(Name omitted here) never did any work, Mom – teams suck!”

These complaints extend all the way to university student team projects. And there's a good reason for this. Our world is increasingly collaborative these days. Technology has made working together easier, even necessary. As a result, teamwork has become a staple of education, all the way through college.

As a university professor, I saw this firsthand. Recruiters would constantly tell us they wanted students who knew how to work in teams. Not just technical skills, but "soft" skills as well: the ability to work with others, communicating effectively, compromise, and actually getting stuff done together.

Faculty from all disciplines are being asked to include student team projects in their courses. And while faculty are experts in their respective fields, they lack knowledge about how to create, manage, and assess teamwork assignments. Teamwork is a science to itself. Asking people in different fields to be student team project experts would be like asking me to do a student team project about microbiology (hint: it would not go well).

That's why I created my virtual workshop on student teams. Think of it as a survival guide to help instructors be more successful in their teamwork endeavors. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or someone who handles faculty development, check out rstandiferworkshops.com —consider it your teamwork lifeline.

Welcome Blog

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 16:42:45 GMT

Welcome to RStandifer Workshops

My professional journey and learning approach

My academic foundation includes both a Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Missouri, where I specialized in Management (Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management). I focus on the human component of work: the dynamics of team effectiveness, the nuances of leadership, the power of organizational culture, and the impact of culture on organizational success and employee satisfaction.

I've always believed that the most valuable learning happens through engagement, not lecture. In my workshops and in the classroom, I try to avoid being the "sage on the stage." Instead, I create interactive, research-grounded experiences that bring theoretical concepts to life through meaningful interaction and practical examples. In particular, I specialize in ways to enhance and manage student team projects.

Both academic instructors and organizational managers face challenges that can be minimized by an understanding of individuals, teams, and culture. These challenges have led me to develop a series of virtual workshops designed for both academic instructors and organizational managers. These workshops bridge the gap between scholarly research and day-to-day management challenges, offering concrete strategies for:

Whether you're an educator looking to enhance student team experiences, a manager seeking to build stronger organizations, or a professional interested in the deeper dynamics of organizational behavior, you'll find content here that combines scholarly depth with real-world applicability.

A Bit About Me Beyond Work

Life is about a balance between work and fun, so let me share a bit about the fun side. I'm a bookworm - when I'm not facilitating workshops, you'll likely find me wandering through used bookstores, breathing in that distinctive "old book smell" and searching for hidden literary treasures. I'm particularly passionate about horror literature and film, and I enjoy studying the historical evolution of this literature genre.

Animals and animal rescue are something I care about. At home, my family and I share space with two four-legged companions: our goofy but loveable pup Piper, and Dapple, the cat who rules the roost (or at least he thinks he does).

While I wouldn't call myself a "foodie," I love exploring international cuisines and bringing variety to my family's meal plans through creative recipe experimentation. For instance, I recently tried Za'atar in hummus for the first time!

Let's Connect!

I believe insight, learning, growth, and enjoyment happen best through connection and conversation. I invite you to join me on this journey of exploration where we'll examine the fascinating intersections of research and reality, theory and practice, work and life. Whether you want to arrange for one of my workshops for you and your team, simply comment, or ask a question, I look forward to engaging with you and learning from your experiences as well.

If you are interested in one of my workshops, go to the Workshops page of this website.

Feel free to reach out – let's make work work together!

-Dr. Rhetta Standifer

r-standifer-workshops

I'm a Gen Xer: The Cranky Middle Child Your Company Really Needs

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What the Easter Island Moai Can Teach Us About Leadership

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Target's Holiday Policy and Emotional Labor: Ho Ho No! Part 2

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What Is Emotional Labor?

So What Can Target Do About It?

Making the "10-4" Policy Actually Work

The Bottom Line

Target’s Holiday Policy and Emotional Labor: Ho Ho No!

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Bobcat's Lessons for New Leaders, Part 2

There's a lot a cat can teach new leaders — just ask Bobcat

Building Relationships

Investment Pays Off

To read this blog, go to Rhetta's Substack, https://rhettastandifer.substack.com/

Bobcat's Lessons for New Leaders

First Days, First Impressions

Day One: Stay Under the Couch

To finish this blog, go to my Substack at https://rhettastandifer.substack.com/

The Game is Afoot: How Leaders Can Assess Their Org Culture Like Sherlock Holmes

On my Substack this week, we're going to don our deerstalker hat and go looking for org culture clues! Enjoy!

How You Make It Through a Student Team Project

When I was a college student, I hated team projects. So I got a PhD. And studied teams. Here’s how you survive a student team project.

Virtual Meeting Etiquette: More Tips

"Politeness costs little and yields much." — Traditional proverb ﻿

Avoid the Lame, Enjoy the Game: Virtual Team Activities Part Two

Not all team-building activities are created equal.

Virtual Meeting Etiquette

What You’ll Learn:

Some Surprising (and Not-So Surprising) Techniques

My mother always said, “mind your manners.” A simple statement that says a lot.

When it comes to virtual team meetings, that sentiment applies, but there is a lot to unpack. Virtual team meetings have all the challenges of traditional team meetings, with added technological and distance obstacles to overcome that can limit or discourage interaction.

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Does Virtual Meeting Etiquette Really Matter?

Cultural Effects

Before the Meeting

Setting the Stage

A Surprising Take on Mics

In the Meeting

For Team Leaders

For Team Members

End On a High Note

Lame Virtual Team Activities, Part One: How to Avoid Them

Some team-building activities make great party fun, but aren't really great as work-centered team activities. Read on to find out more about selecting effective virtual team-building activities.

Virtual Transformational Leadership: The New Superpower

In this post, we explore how transformational leadership can aid virtual team leaders in their efforts to reach their members more effectively and meaningfully.

The Tendon Effect: How Casual Conversation Transforms Virtual Team Performance

Virtual teams need informal, "non work" talk to really perform

Beyond Yes Men: How Great Leaders Build Cultures That Challenge Them

What Makes Student Teams Projects Actually Work?

Successful teams share characteristics of success

Roles for Students in Group Work

Our Workshop

Beyond the Mute Button: Transform Virtual Meetings from Time-Wasters to Team-Builders

3 Virtual Team Leadership Challenges (And How to Fix Them)

Things virtual team leaders can do to make their team better.

Challenges of Virtual Teams

How “Mattering” Matters in Virtual Teams: Building a Connection

Make People Feel Valued in Virtual Teams

Mattering in the workplace

Student Team Project Trauma: The (Not-So) Hidden Emotional Cost to Students – Part 2

Student Team Project Trauma: The (Not-So) Hidden Emotional Cost to Students

The Game is Afoot: Organizational Culture Assessment by Sherlock Holmes

Managing Virtual Teams Best Practices: What Restaurants Can Teach Us

3 "Myths" Students Believe About Student Team Projects

Myth #1: “Real teams don’t have these problems.”

Myth #2: “The grade is the only thing that matters.”

Myth #3: "When our student team is having a problem, I don't need to tell my instructor."

Creating meaningful teamwork for students

Student Team Projects: Traumatized by Teamwork

Challenges of Teamwork

Welcome Blog

Welcome to RStandifer Workshops

My professional journey and learning approach

A Bit About Me Beyond Work

Let's Connect!

"Politeness costs little and yields much." — Traditional proverb